Carousel Of Progress?

[dbm20th]

I'll be honest, I have not been in the CoP for a few years now. It always seemed to be closed when I was there. Are the AA's still the old-school herky-jerky kind?

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Other than the folks that in 1964 were still driving around their 1929 Model As and saying those '64 Chevy wagons lacked character.

Now THATS funny !

 

[cookiebrito]

COP is my ultimate favorite ride..... don't ask me why but I love it. I never miss the chance to ride. I do agree that the ride is in terrible condition. I hope that they fix it rather than puting in a new ride in its place. I miss the old rides like Frog and Toad's Adventure and 2000 Leauges Under the Sea.

 

[micknpluto]

This attraction has to stay!

My Mom loves this ride and it was the first attraction we did when we took my Grandmother to WDW who has since past away. She loved it too!

This is part of history and is a Walt Disney original. Lets not forget about Walt and the way he would want things to be!

 

[mitros]

CoP is alive and well. And if I may make a suggestion for those who do not like CoP, you can always go to Epcot and enjoy the wonderfull MS ride, if it's more to your individual liking. Some of us do not particularly care for the bone jaring nauseating stuff. And, by the way, we were there on Tuesday, {MS} and there was no line, no wait, no fast passes being used, and they were giving fast passes for immediate rides on MS when you got a fast pass for Test Track! So, for all the CoP haters, get your bad self over to Epcot!
Also, we are going back for 4 more days on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how the "new" and "improved" non-rotating version of the ride works out. which started today.
Of course, as per Disney, they did not make the changes because of the deaths or sicknesses on the ride.

 

[DavyCrockett]

i visited COP a week ago. I like it. My 5 year old daughter also enjoyed the show.

it seems like rumors of the shows demise have been circulating for a few years now, so I don't get too excited when someone on message boards claims its going away.

 

[tinkbel]

I love the carousel of progress. I rode it for the first time last year with my Mom Dad and DD. My mom and Dad got off and said they had seen that before. After about 10 miniutes they said it was the 1964 World fair. What a great memory for them!!!

 

[Deedlbugg]

We were in WDW in early May and I couldn't wait to go to COP.
While in line, I was talking to a CM who said COP would never leave WDW or close because it was in Walt's or Roy's will to reamin intact and operating.
Don't know how legit or knowing this CM was, but it made me feel better just the same!

 

[micknpluto]

We were in WDW in early May and I couldn't wait to go to COP.
While in line, I was talking to a CM who said COP would never leave WDW or close because it was in Walt's or Roy's will to reamin intact and operating.
Don't know how legit or knowing this CM was, but it made me feel better just the same!

This is good to hear! thank you for posting

 

[momof2dizkids]

I love riding COP. It was one of my favorite rides as a kid, and when my family was at MK a few months ago, I took my DS (5) and DD (8) on it. They really enjoyed it!! I thought my DS would get bored out of his mind (or fall asleep), but, to my surprise he thought it was "COOL"!!

 

[MJMcBride]

CoP is alive and well. And if I may make a suggestion for those who do not like CoP, you can always go to Epcot and enjoy the wonderfull MS ride, if it's more to your individual liking. Some of us do not particularly care for the bone jaring nauseating stuff. And, by the way, we were there on Tuesday, {MS} and there was no line, no wait, no fast passes being used, and they were giving fast passes for immediate rides on MS when you got a fast pass for Test Track! So, for all the CoP haters, get your bad self over to Epcot!
Also, we are going back for 4 more days on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how the "new" and "improved" non-rotating version of the ride works out. which started today.
Of course, as per Disney, they did not make the changes because of the deaths or sicknesses on the ride.

Actually, I don't care one way or another about CoP and I don't want bone-jarring rides (Test Track is cool, MS forget it). CoP is just out dated to me.

 

[kbmoo]

You have to do COP. It's tradition. Plus it's a great place to rest. You gotta love that song too. It's a great big beautiful tomorrow! I always have to go on it. Almost as much as it's a small world. But the song is'nt quite as annoying. Boy now I have both songs stuck in my head.

 

[dbm20th]

And if I may make a suggestion for those who do not like CoP, you can always go to Epcot and enjoy the wonderfull MS ride, if it's more to your individual liking. Some of us do not particularly care for the .

So by this logic, if you don't like CoP, you must only like "bone jaring nauseating stuff"?

 

[MJMcBride]

nauseating I like. Bone-jarring I can do without.

 

[TinyLolitaBunny]

I the carousel of progress. it is a must-see and very exciting to me! I agree that the audio-animatronics are outdated and there are maintenance issues (not the least being the animatronics themselves needing work!) But at the least Id like to see it updated. I wouldnt want to see it completely gone. I think its a really fun show. Perhaps if they could make a new version of it with new animatronics in it that would spark more interest.

 

[KimDis]

Ok, I'm one of those people who's admittedly "stuck" between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Disney. I want the parks to be current, new and exciting (I mean, let's be real enough to admit attendance keeps the park open)... but I don't really want them to change my old rides either.

COP is a little sliver of the past for me. I think it's like that for everyone that loves it. It exemplifies the Disney vision that we fell in love with, and it's precious. I feel like, as wonderful as Disney is now... they've lost what made it amazing. If I thought it was as simple as updating/new attractions I'd be happy with what's being offered today. But this new Disney is not as cohesive or enthralling. It just doesn't feel like we're seeing the concept of the future or technology or anything in the way I thought the parks did in the past. I don't see as much vision, just commercialization of what exists today in film and commerce. The best part about Disney for me has always been that little bit of learning I get with fun. And the fact that I'll be thinking about the idea of the ride years after I've left.

Does COP need to be a little updated, yes. Especially that last scene. But I'd rather have it be the exactly the same than hear one day that they'd shut it down and turned into a hot mess like they've done with other rides. I was sad when Mission to Mars and 20,000 Leagues disappeared. But I was mad when I saw how they'd ruined Journey into Imagination (my poor Figment, a shadow of what he once was).

Hey, maybe we can keep some of the classics that appeal to the over 8 set and other Disney nostalgics and add a few new ones to keep 'em coming.

My $0.02... and now I'll never get either of those songs out of my head

 

[ukeeyorelover]

I'm not sure what it is but there's this weird feeling I get when I ride on CoP for the first time in a holiday. It's like a really emotional moment when it suddenly dawns on you that your back at the happiest place on earth. It just makes me feel all teary. Illuminations gives the same feeling too!

I can understand why people might find CoP a little boring because there isnt actually much to it but when you take a moment to sit back and realise where you are, its the best feeling in the world!

 

[amy4bruce]

Last December (my first trip!) I rode CoP for the first time since 1965, the last time I went to the NY Worlds' Fair. Three quarters of it was what I remembered. I probably wouldn't have liked it if I had stepped on it for the first time, but as an experience in nostalgia, it was like no other.

Interestingly enough, my DD6 liked it very much, rode it more often than I did (she rode it with her mother while I was on Space Mountain), and wants to see it again on our next trip.

 

[Dreamflight]

I LOVE COP, always have

A combination of loving the setting (mini animatronic theatre shows are fun for me), loving the fact Walt came up with it, loving the quirks and dialogue of the family (Uncle Orville, "no privacy at all 'round here!" LOL),and loving the message (progress as seen through the daily lives of the american family).

That said, i think they need to do three major things:

1) Renovate the seating area and fix the rotation engine. Sometimes it breaks down and that's not good! And while I actually don't have an issue with the seating, that's one of the major complaints i hear about the CoP. And i can understnad that. For me, I'm just so excited to be at the CoP that, as long as I'm not sitting on metal tacks or barbed wire, i'm happy

2) Make necessary (and frequent) updates to the future scene. While I do enjoy seeing what people used to conceive as the future, that just doesn't fly with this SPECIFIC attraction. This attraction is SO unique cause it's about the concept of progress itself. Therefore, while the concept is NEVER outdated, it needs to stay current in its application. So we need some Imagineers to come up with a lot of new visionary ideas for that "future scene". I'm not saying that everything in the current future scene is actually part of life today, but it's just not that enough of a future vision from the vantage point of this generation. What do people of today expect and hope to see in the future? That's what we need there. Not just ovens that talk back

3) Marketing/focusing on the CoP. I don't mean a huge advertising campaign with slogans while old hip music is played as some random super model poses by the CoP! (like in car commercials!) I mean Disney re-emphasizing this attraction, talking more about it. Show the new Disney fans the history and rationale of the CoP and how it relates to their life. Remind old fans of the CoP that its still there and (hopefully soon) updated. Give it some attention!

The fact that we are having the whole 50 year anniversary of DL and they didn't do that much to mention the CoP (one of Walt's original concepts and DL attractions) kinda bothered me. The CoP embodies the spirit they wanted: THERE is the celebration of history AND the future all in one! They missed out on a golden opportunity to really push the relevance of CoP.

The Carousel of Progress is always going to be relevant as long as people celebrate and desire life's benefits through progress. And, for the most part, it appears a large amount of people still do! And I just think that, out of EVERY Disney attraction, the CoP is the most adaptable to being updated, just by the nature of the theme! It's time to get that concept out there and remind Disney fans about it. CoP dates back from Walt Disney and extends as far as we can conceive of...and then always just a bit further

 

[Sonno]

COP, for some strange reason, is one of my favorite attractions in all of WDW.
I mean com'on, sing it with me...

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of ev'ryday
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow's just a dream away

Man has a dream and that's the start
He follows his dream with mind and heart
And when it becomes a reality
It's a dream come true for you and me

So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of ev'ryday
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Just a dream away

How could that not make anyone feel pretty darn good inside?

I love COP, I see it everytime I go to MK without fail, because I know someday, it won't be there anymore. And you want to hear something really cool? When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the show, don't know why, maybe it was the dog licking the water from the ice box, who knows? But now that I have a son, it is one of the coolest things in the world to take him to see it and see his reaction to it, watch the little gears spin around in his head. He was sitting there clappin to the music with me. He loves it as much as I do!

So I say go and see it and enjoy it while it lasts.